Collette and husband big losers after reneging on house deal

Actor Toni Collette and her musician husband David Galafassi will receive little more than A$74,500 ($81,950) in change after handing over $700,000 in damages to a couple of aggrieved ex-homeowners.

But the famous duo have also been ordered to foot most of the latest bill in a lengthy court battle, sparked when they reneged on a promise to buy a multimillion-dollar house in Sydney's Paddington three years ago.

Collette and Galafassi had agreed to buy the eastern suburbs home of Industrie clothing founders Nick and Susan Kelly for A$6.35 million in 2011. But on the day they were to complete the transaction, they backed out, saying they didn't have the money.

Collette and her husband pleaded with Ms Kelly not to go to court.

The home eventually sold in 2012 for A$5.5 million and they sued Collette and Galafassi for the loss.

Collette and Galafassi were ordered in the NSW Supreme Court to pay the Kellys nearly A$815,000, though this was reduced on appeal to slightly more than A$600,000. Collette and Galafassi had already paid A$700,000 and on Thursday the NSW appeal court ordered Susan Kelly to hand back the amount overpaid with interest.